Tutorials on soapmaking, bath fizzies, lotions and more
The 12 Days of Christmas promotion is officially over tomorrow. Hopefully you have lots of handmade gift ideas for the holidays! The promotion features easy to make projects, like the adorable Chocolate Mint Melt and Pour soaps. With a delectable mix of Dark Rich Chocolate Fragrance Oil and Moroccan Mint Fragrance Oil, this soap smells just like a classic holiday candy. The Moroccan Mint Fragrance Oil is 30% off until tomorrow at noon PST. No coupon necessary.
It is only November, but we’re in full holiday spirit already. As part of our 12 Days of Christmas promotion, we’re sharing a series of easy-to-make handmade gifts through Nov. 21st. Each tutorial features one ingredient that will be 30% off for 24 hours starting at noon, PST; no coupon necessary!
The first tutorial was the fragrant Scented Beeswax Ornaments. Made with Woodland Elves Fragrance Oil, these ornaments add a pop of color and a fresh pine scent to any holiday tree (or linen drawer).
With cheery hues and a warm vanilla scent, these Green and Red Wax Melts are perfectly festive! Wax melts, also known as wax tarts, are a great alternative to candles. Flame free and easy to make, wax melts fill your home with scent in minutes. Simply place the cube on a warmer tray to melt the cube and release the fragrance.
The Small Cube Mold & Package acts as a mold and packaging, making this project incredibly easy to give this holiday season.
According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women. It is likely you may know somebody affected by breast cancer, or maybe you are a breast cancer survivor yourself. Fortunately, death rates from breast cancer have been declining since 1990. Early detection is key; be proactive and schedule an annual breast exam.
This soothing breast balm was created to raise awareness and help women going through breast cancer treatment. The recipe is inspired by Sharon’s Boob Balm for Radiation Burns. Using similar soothing ingredients such as olive oil, vitamin E oil and calendula extract and lavender essential oil, this balm is moisturizing and calming for any ouch or rough patch on skin. Apply this balm directly to affected area multiple times per day. If you are going through radiation, check out Sharon’s Boob Balm for Radiation Burns for an extra powerful version of the recipe below.
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On a cold and rainy day, there is nothing better than filling your home with a warm scent. Wax tart melts are a fun alternative to candles and require no open flame. Simply melt down wax, add your fragrance and color, and heat the tart on a warmer tray to release the fragrance. They’re easy to create and are a great project for beginners.
Neroli & Shea Blossom Fragrance Oil is a fantastic blend of bergamot, orange blossom and amber, making it a great choice for a home fragrance. It also blends beautifully with a wide variety of fragrances, including Smoky Patchouli and Vetyver Fragrance Oils. If you’d like more blending ideas for this project, check out this idea sheet!
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Handmade gifts are a special treat during the holidays. Giving someone a gift you worked hard on is a great feeling. Handmade gifts – especially cold process soap – do take time to prepare. That’s why it’s a good idea to get started now. If you need some ideas, there is plenty of Handmade Holiday Gift Inspiration to go around.
It’s another throw-back Thursday video on Soap Queen TV! This video was originally filmed in 2009 (check out the background on the set). This recipe is still a favorite and the label templates are remain cute and functional. The label template will be free to download for the next week and after that will be available for purchase.
Too early for Christmas? If you are like me, every year you say you are going to make gifts for the holidays and every year you run out of time (or like me, end up pulling an all-nighter). So let’s make this the year we plan ahead. The trick is to get your supplies now and make your projects in those few hours here and there. Before you know it, the holidays will be here and, you’ll have no stress because you’ll have a wonderful gift for everyone on your list.
This video features two recipes. One for a small batch and one for a large batch of lip balm.
Get everything you need with the click of a button!
Recipe for the small batch:
Recipe for the Large Batch:
Note: this recipe was made with Shamrock Green Mica, which was reformulated and no longer lip safe. It’s now made with Apple Moss Green Mica.
Tools and Containers:
While soap is our first love (and soul mate!) we’re not solely about the soap here at Bramble Berry. This week there were several non-soapy tutorials and recipes, including a Blackberry, Lemon and Basil Sorbet. Full of sweet blackberries, tart lemon and a hint of earthy basil, this sorbet is an excellent way to stay cool during the hot summer months.
This week was chock full of information, from oils and fragrances to organization tips. The Sunday Night Spotlight: Jojoba Oil explains how this versatile product is somewhere between an oil and a liquid wax, and how it can be used in scrubs, lotions, lip balms and cold process soap. Have you used Jojoba Oil in your products?
It was a rainy week here in Washington state, but lucky for us we were still in Rome! Well, in spirit anyway. The Roman Holiday series of tutorials featuring Neroli and Shea Blossom Fragrance Oil wrapped up, with projects ranging from the simple Neroli & Shea Solid Perfume to the intricate Tile Inlay Cold Process Tutorial.
We have a secret and we can’t keep it in any longer. Fine. We’ll tell you. You practically dragged it out of us. Here it goes. We’re launching a new website this November 2014 called Handmade Beauty Box and we could not be more excited to share the news!
Update: You can now visit HandmadeBeautyBox.com for all the details!
What is Handmade Beauty Box?
Handmade Beauty Box is a subscription box that delivers monthly DIY beauty projects right to your door. Members will receive high quality ingredients to make the most popular DIY projects such as lotions, soaps, mineral makeup, bath fizzies, lipstick, nail polish, foot scrubs, candles, etc. The cost is $29.99 per month for your all-inclusive surprise box (including shipping). You read that correctly. Each month’s box will remain a surprise until you rip it open like a kid on Christmas morning. A crafty girl’s dream come true, right?
Handmade Beauty Box Mailing List
Do you want to be notified when the website launches so you can get in on the fun? Email us at [email protected] and you’ll be the first to know when Handmade Beauty Box goes live.
The Contest
The Handmade Beauty Box website is currently under construction. That’s where you come in. We need your help deciding on a new company logo!
Enter the contest by:
1) Voting on your favorite logo HERE
2) In the comments section of the blog, tell us what project you would like to see in a Handmade Beauty Box. Think beauty, easy and something that anyone just trying the craft could try and make successfully.
The winner will receive a FREE three month subscription to Handmade Beauty Box. Contest ends Tuesday 7/22.
Pssst. Do you want to double your chances of winning? Follow Handmade Beauty Box on social media. Like, follow, and share your little hearts out. In your “Here’s what I’d like to see in your Handmade Beauty Box” just tell us where you followed us and your user name and boom, double entry!
Find Handmade Beauty Box:
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Pinterest
Ready to vote, and be entered to win? Ready, set, VOTE!
After Monday’s great overview post on tallow, our guest blogger Eric Vought is following up today with a tallow soaping recipe! Tallow is rendered animal fat, and it is the original fat used in soaping. Some soapers still choose to use it because it’s an excellent substitute for palm oil, has a stable lather and it’s usually readily available at the neighborhood butcher shop. Enjoy! — A.M. 
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Back when people first started making soap, there were only two readily-available ingredients: lye and tallow. Tallow is basically animal fat rendered for soapmaking, and many soapers still use tallow in their recipes. While it can be a controversial ingredient, it acts similar to palm oil in soap, adding lather stability and hardness to soap. Some soapers choose to use it in place of palm oil, because they have a ready supply of it or because they like the properties it adds to their soap. In today’s guest post, crafter Eric Vought explains the benefits of tallow and how to use its unique properties to your advantage. — A.M.
Tallow is rendered animal fat (curious how to render tallow? This post has information as well as this informative Teach Soap post). Tallow is mentioned in the first Greek legends when soap was accidentally created from ash and fats. It’s great for making hard, white bars, and it’s ideal for certain decorating techniques.
Eric Vought, the author of this post, made this laundry soap from a combination of sheep tallow, coconut oil and olive oil. Watch for the tutorial coming soon!
This week we looked to nature for soapy inspiration. If you are a candle maker, the Garden Candle Tutorial is a great project to expand your skills. If you prefer a simple, more natural candle, the Eco Chic Candle Tutorial is a fast and functional way to recycle jars.
We also shared the beautiful Juicy Orange and Sweet Rose Cold Process Tutorial. Made with 10x Orange Essential Oil and colored with Paprika, this cold process tutorial looks as fresh and juicy as it smells! Paprika is a fantastic way to naturally color your soap, as seen in the Indigo Spoon Plop Cold Process Tutorial. If you’d like to learn more about natural colorants, the Sunday Night Spotlight: Natural Colorants is full of info.
Speaking of natural color and additives, our Facebook Photo of the Week from Katie of Thumbprint Handcrafted Soap utilizes products from nature to give her soap lots of personality. Made with walnut shells, honey and cocoa powder, this Honey Walnut Hand and Foot Scrub Soap gently exfoliates the skin, leaving it silky smooth.
